Caught Green-Handed
by ioxmo
Summary: When Kim Possible goes on a rampage, the world is shocked. However, not everything is always as it seems. Has she snapped or is there an imposter running about, ruining her reputation? If so, how can she clear her name? **Updated 6-2 with chapter 6.
1. Chapter 1: The Semblance

Caught Green-Handed

Chapter 1: The Semblance

A mid-fall's breeze swept across Middleton and through Kim's hair as she stared into the late evening sun. She leaned against the brick facade of the Bank of Middleton, watching the remaining sun illuminate some frothy flat clouds a bright pink hue.

"It's not even five." She muttered, realizing the impending stars.

The familiar four-stroke tune of her Kimmunicator sounded, nearly startling her. She pulled it out of her pocket in a huff and silenced it with a button. She looked it over, studying all the buttons, when it started beeping again. With a grunt she took a few steps to the corner of the bricked building and slammed the bottom of the Kimmunicator on the corner. With another series of beeps, she slammed it again. Then, she struck it with enough ferocity to split the hard plastic on the bottom. Using both gloved hands, she pulled at the split with all her strength until it ripped apart and its intricate components flew high. Silicon and bits of plastic rained down like high-tech confetti followed by the hollow plastic half shells from Kim's hands.

"I won't be needing your services anymore, Wade!" She said, stomping intact microchips as she saw them.

With a sigh, she bent forward and rose again to flip her hair back in an attempt to remove any debris. She ran her fingers though several times to be sure. With a tug at her crop top and dusting of her pants, she turned back and advanced to the large glass front doors of the bank.

"May I help you?" A perky, young blond teller asked as Kim walked up to the counter.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Mr. Wood... uh, Mr. Woodward."

"Oh! You must be Kim Possible! Mr. Woodward has been waiting for you. His office is up those stairs to the right. Office number three." The teller said, pointing at an ornate staircase.

"Thanks." Kim said, pressing away from the counter.

She ascended the shiny stone stairs in almost a jog, neglecting to use the dark cherry railing along the wall. Upon turning right at the top, she passed a few gray-haired suits who gave her a puzzled look, but no hassle. She soon reached the end of the hallway and found office number three. "GERALD WOODWARD" was painted on the frosted window of the heavy, brown door. She gave five quick raps on the glass. A brief moment later, the door opened. There stood a portly man just a few inches taller than Kim. His swept back gray hair seemed dark from whatever cosmetic product he used.

"Kim Possible! It's great to see you again! Come in." He said with a deep, somewhat pompous pitch.

Kim followed him into his office, making sure to gently close the large door behind her.

"Thanks for seeing me on such short notice."

"Nonsense." He said, reaching and leaning on his desk at the end of the room, "It's the least I could do after you foiled that Russian identity theft ring from exploiting my patrons."

"Oh, it was no big, uh, thing." Kim said, glancing around the office and noticing a large bookshelf lining the right wall. "Are all these books about accounting or something?"

"Well, not only accounting..." He said, grunting a bit as he pushed himself off his desk, "Many are of statistics and trends. Some are even about management."

He walked over to the bookshelf and ran his left hand along the top shelf as Kim quietly stepped closer to his desk on the drab gray carpet.

"As the bank manager, I do everything I can to run the bank efficiently...even reading some so-called self-help books."

Kim backtracked to the desk, bumping her hand against an office telephone as she placed it down. She looked down at it as it felt unusually hefty. It was large, black, and expensive-looking.

"That's great." Kim said, filling the brief silence.

"Now, what is it that you needed to see me for today, Ms. Possible?" He asked, turn his head away from the books.

"Oh, um..." She said, placing a finger to her lip, "May I use your telephone for a moment? I forgot I needed to contact...someone. It's rather important."

Mr. Woodward smiled and nodded gently.

"Of course. Take your time." He said, turning back towards the books.

Kim couldn't help but smile as she carefully grabbed both sides of the large phone. She picked it up, noticing its true heft.

"I really should update some of these volumes." Mr. Woodward mumbled to himself.

With an intense growl Kim slammed the phone against the back of Mr. Woodward's neck. He bounced against the bookshelf and crumpled to the ground on his side. Without hesitation, Kim raised the phone and slammed it against the side of his head, spraying several plastic digits about the floor. She dropped the phone next to his face. It landed with a thud. She then grabbed a length of phone wire, pulling it taut. Mr. Woodward was barely conscious and trying to rise to his feet. Kim strung the phone cord around his neck like a garrote and began wrapping the excess wire tightly around. He sluggishly grabbed at the wire as Kim pulled on both sides protruding behind him, leaning back with all her weight. She tugged so hard, she managed to drag him several feet despite being far outweighed. With one mighty tug, she slipped and fell. Instinctively she planted a foot to the base of his neck to use as a brace as she continued to pull on the wires. Mr. Woodward's face was quickly turning a sickly shade of blue and he soon went totally limp, but Kim refused to let go for several minutes. When she finally did, she laid back to rest on the ground for a moment.

"Phase one complete." She said with a muted chuckle before springing to her feet.

Just as she had ascended, Kim quickly jotted down the fancy staircase, the balls of her feet barely touching the laminated stone steps. She spied the same blond teller finishing up with a customer and walked over to her.

"That was quick," the teller said with an exaggerated cheerful inflection, "Did Mr. Woodward need your help with some more baddies?"

Kim leaned onto the counter, resting her chin on her palm and grinned.

"Or is that top secret and if you told me, you'd have to kill me," the young woman continued in her overzealous tone.

Kim's grin turned into a smile.

"You could say that."

Kim dropped her hand to the counter and leaned in to whisper.

"I'd like to make a withdraw."

"Oh? I didn't realize you had an account with us, Ms. Possible."

"I don't...but everything in your till would make a good starting deposit." Kim said, smiling again.

"I, uh, don't understand..." the teller muttered.

Using the balance of her arms, Kim launched herself up and onto the counter. The teller instinctively took a step back, and was immediately stomped in the face. Kim's boot sent her to the floor, unconscious.

"Ok, everyone listen up." Kim yelled, turning to face the customers, "I'm Kim Possible and I'm here to collect some compensation for all my time and effort saving you helpless peasants. Nobody gets in my way and nobody gets hurt, got it?"

The stunned crowd kept their silence and stance, waiting for her next move when suddenly a door flew open from a protruding office along the wall. Out came a lanky security guard, gripping a gun on his belt. Without even an iota of hesitation, Kim leapt off the counter, doing a somersault as she hit the ground. The guard had barely unholstered his blocky, black pistol when Kim used the momentum of her roll to launch herself high enough to swat it away with a flying roundhouse kick. Immediately as she landed, she thrust her right palm into his nose, making sure to torque her hips to inflict maximum force. The skinny guard's generic, blue, security hat fell to the ground as he took a few steps back, clutching his nose. His pale blue shirt became dotted with jagged red spots.

"Hold it!" A voice yelled from behind.

Kim spun around to see a much larger guard approaching. As she planted her feet to vault, her tuned ears picked up the sound of plastic rubbing vinyl. She turned back around to see a bright red light from a taser pointed at her by the bloodied guard. Kim flung her upper body back, arms spread to help adsorb the impact from the ground, as she kicked the bottom of the guard's outstretched hand. The taser rose a bit as it fired, striking the large guard. He fell to the ground, dropping his yet deployed retractable baton. Kim rolled backwards to her feet and lunged forth with a vengeful growl. She dislodged the taser from the shocked guard's hand with a backhanded slap and used her powerful leg muscles to propel herself into the air. She clutched each shoulder of the guard to help her rise higher and wrapped her right leg around the side of his neck. As he grabbed her shin, she used the other leg to lock her hold in place by sliding it in front of the bend of her boot, behind the guard's back. The guard started to choke as she applied pressure in the so-called figure-four choke. She rocked her body side to side as the guard struggled to keep his balance. Finally, he started to fall. Kim spun her upper body, causing a chain reaction below. Just before they hit the ground, she suddenly torqued her entire body the other direction. The impact of their bodies on the ground masked it, but Kim felt the ripping of vertebrae and tissue; the guard was now motionless. She released her hold and climbed to her feet, nursing the pain of her hip caused by the hard floor, as she saw the larger guard rising to his feet.

"Don't you morons listen?" She yelled, stabbing forward with a bent knee.

She struck the guard directly in the cheek, knocking him to his back. Not deterred, though dazed, he rolled over to rise again. His head hung below his body as he tried to rise, becoming a perfect target for a vicious soccer kick delivered from well above Kim's waist. The impact knocked him out instantly.

"I thought I said not to mess with me." She said with a slight pant before kicking the baton away from the downed guard.

Her eyes scanned the cowering crowd until she spotted a young woman trying to hide at the edge of the counter.

"You!" Kim said, pointing with her left hand as she reached into the cargo pocket of her pants with the other, "I want you to go in that vault and fill this bag."

She pulled out a green nylon bag as she bent over to grab the shirt of the woman. Kim pulled her to her feet and shoved the bag into her chest.

"Get over there and start filling it," Kim yelled, shoving the dark-haired lady, "And if I find a dye pack in there, you'll regret it."

The woman headed towards the vault as Kim recovered the gun she had kicked out of the skinny guard's hand. She then rushed to the woman, who had just unlatched the slatted door of the open vault.

"Don't try anything." Kim whispered into her ear, pressing the gun to the back of her head.

Kim thrust her inside with the muzzle of the gun and took a took a stance at the doorway to watch both the lobby and inside the vault. A few tense and silent, save for the sparse sobbing of hostages, minutes passed as Kim constantly switching from watching the front door and the dark-haired woman filling the bag.

"Ok, that's enough." Kim said, waving for the woman to bring her the bag.

"Here." The woman said timidly.

Kim smashed the butt of the pistol across the bridge of her nose, causing her to recoil and fall to the ground.

"Sit down and shut up!" Kim yelled, pulling the draw string of the nearly-full bag.

She slung the large backpack-sized bag over her shoulder and headed to the front door, waving the pistol at patrons and employees to discourage any heroics.

"I'll consider this a down payment." She said with a smile as she pressed against the front door.

As Kim exited, she was greeted by the muzzle of a police officer's gun.

"Drop the gun!" He screamed.

Kim let the sack of money drop to the ground as she put both hands up.

"Do it now!" The cop screamed again from behind the passenger door of a police car.

His partner climbed out of the driver's side. Kim tossed the gun to the side where it landed in a bush.

"Get on your knees, now!" The mustached officer continued screaming.

Kim dropped down to one knee with a sigh and then the other. The officer approached her slowly from about ten feet away as his partner came around his left to provide cover.

"Don't you dare move a muscle." The approaching cop said as he circled around behind her.

Kim's ears perked up when she heard his gun slide into its leather holster and the clanking of handcuffs. He cranked a cuff on her left wrist first and started to bend it down behind her back when she slipped her hand away and gripped his with her thumb pressing down just below his palm. The expert grip caused him great pain and just as lightning quick as Kim grabbed him, she spun around to his left side. The cop's partner fired a shot, missing Kim and accidentally hitting the mustached officer in the leg. Kim pulled the officers arm behind him with her cuffed hand and ripped his gun out of its holster with the right. She increased the pressure of her nerve pinch enough so to prevent her hostage from reacting as she pointed his gun around his right side to fire at his partner. Kim fired five quick shots at the other officer before striking him in the neck. He dropped his gun and fell against a parked car, grasping at the hole next to his trachea, before slumping to the ground. Kim wrenched the officer's arm upward as she kicked his wounded leg, causing him to fall to his knees with a painful shout. With no regard, she pointed the gun a scant inch from the back of his head and fired. She released her hold and let him fall to the ground before she retrieved the money. She noticed specks of blood on her pants in the process. Her mission complete, she jogged down the sloping parking lot to an intersection. A small, silver sedan slowed to a stop at the freshly red light as Kim approached.

"Get out if you want to live" she said sternly, pointing the gun at the driver's face, through the partially opened window.

"O-ok, ok miss." The middle-aged man said, opening the door.

In his haste and fear he had forgotten to unbuckle his seat belt. He frenetically tugged at the belt, too panicked to press the release button. Angry and impatient, Kim pulled the door fully open and kicked him across the face. The attack dazed the man, letting his foot slip off the brake and the car to slowly roll forward. Kim reached in, released the belt, and toppled the man out against the curb. She chucked the green bag across to the passenger's seat and hopped inside, still clutching the gun. Wasting no time, she sped away, letting momentum close the door, and fled the scene.


	2. Chapter 2: The Swap

Chapter 2: The Swap

The sky, now a deep regimental blue interlaced with stark gray streaks, contained only a sliver of a moon, barely enough to illuminate the fading clear coat of the inconspicuous silver sedan rolling down a dank alleyway. The stolen car passed a few slimy dumpsters, frightened stray cats, and graffiti-marred walls before turning into a small indention in the alley. It pulled up a short ramp and into an open bay door of a small warehouse. Kim pressed the gearshift to park and turned off the engine. She pulled the gun from between her legs and tossed it atop the plush bag of money as she exited. With a casual swing, she hit the bay door button with the side of her fist and watched it close noisily.

"I'm back!" She yelled after opening a small door to the large, open interior.

There was no answer. Kim became instantly suspicious and closed the door behind her quietly. She moved forward between stacked crates and the wall in a makeshift hallway with careful steps. She peered around the last crate just enough to see three unconscious henchmen in green jumpsuits strewn about. Instinctively, she hunched into a fighting stance. She moved from cover and closed in on the henchmen. A scowl came across her face as she noticed a pile of burnt rope on the floor.

"You know..." A voice said, making Kim spin around to see Shego standing on three crates, "Once I figured out how to use this freaky power of yours, it was easy to get away."

"Those idiots didn't think to use chains to tie my body up?" the imposter Kim growled.

"No, they're pretty dumb," the real Kim said via Shego's body, "But I have to give it to Dr. Drakken reverse engineering the military's brain-switching device. I guess he's not as dumb as he looks."

"Heh," the imposter Kim said with a smirk, "Maybe not, but he's sure dumb enough to let me steal it."

The real Kim shifted the hips of her temporary body.

"Well, I don't appreciate being used as a guinea pig," she said, letting her hand burst green with fury, "Now, if you don't mind Shego, I would like my body back."

Kim dropped from the crate with a looping green hook. Shego executed a back flip that would make Kim's cheer squad proud and counter attacked with a spinning back kick. Kim ducked it and struck back with a front kick to the stomach. Shego stumbled back and tripped over one of the knocked out henchmen. Kim advanced only to be greeted with a flying chunk of concrete. It grazed her cheek as she pulled to the side. Shego grabbed another baseball size piece of concrete, but let it go once she eyed some old construction equipment against a wall. She jumped up and ran for it. Kim ignited both fists and chased after her.

"Give it up, Shego!"

Shego almost slammed into a weathered work bench as she came to a stop.

"Fat chance, princess!" She yelled, grabbing a large crowbar.

She spun around, swinging the crowbar with all her strength. Kim barely got her right arm up to block it and screamed upon impact. Shego raised the crowbar high with both hands and prepared to smash her own image. On the downswing, Kim spun to the side, and before Shego could recover from her own momentum, Kim drove a knee directly into her chin. Shego dropped the crowbar and immediately fell to her knees in a fog. Kim let both hands lose their greenish glow, then pulled Shego back to her feet.

"Sorry, Shego... you just can't pull off that look."

Kim hoisted the imposter up and over her shoulder and carried her towards the brain-switching machine. Without much sympathy, she dropped Shego into the metal chair attached to the machine.

"Maybe I shouldn't have done that." She said, seeing her own head bounce off steel.

The metal-studded rubber coating of the headgear clicked as Kim pulled it down. She affixed the chinstrap firmly as Shego stirred a bit.

"Better hurry." Kim muttered, stepping over to the other seat.

She sat down on some strands of burnt rope and pulled the shiny headpiece down from above.

"Here we go." Kim thought as she finished tightening her chinstrap.

She pressed a large, yellow button labeled "ARM" and grabbed the knob of the adjacent lever. Three small lights above the yellow button lit up, one after another, red.

"Come on already." Kim said.

The machine hummed and the lights now turned yellow.

"Drakken sure didn't build this thing up to military spec." She said, annoyed.

Finally, after several seconds, the lights turned green, flashed three times, and turned bright green. Kim yanked the lever down and was instantly shocked with the pain and indescribable transparent feeling of her mind being in two places at once. Like she suffered at the hands of Shego when forced to switch, she suddenly lost all her senses and fell unconscious. She awoke with the back of her head throbbing in what seemed like an eternity later. Moaning, she rubbed the back of her head and then looked at it for any sign of blood. She gasped; there was no blood, but she recognized her trademark charcoal gloves. The transfer had left her disoriented for a bit, but now she realized she could escape. She flicked the chinstrap off and jumped out of her seat.

"Gotta destroy this thing." She said, patting her pocket, "Where's the Kimmunicator?"

She grumbled as she looked at Shego and then the machine.

"Well, I guess I can always take the Ron approach." She said with a smile, vaulting onto the top of the machine.

She looked to the left and right, spotting a maintenance panel. She pulled at the door until it wiggled open with force. A myriad of wires and switches was exposed. Kim wasted no time in rerouting many of them and setting all switches to "ON." She back flipped to the ground, landing in front of the controls. She nonchalantly punched the yellow button again, sending the machine into warm-up mode. Shego's head slumped forward with only the chinstrap preventing her from falling off the chair. She groaned as it woke her up.

"What's... what's going on?" She said as her burred vision began to focus.

"I won... again." Kim said looking over at her with a smirk.

Shego growled and ripped her chinstrap off, only to fall to her knees from a sudden jolt of pain in her arm. She grabbed it with her other hand and screamed with a mixture of rage and pain.

"Deja vu?" Kim said, smiling, "Bet you wish you didn't use that crowbar now."

Shego slowly rose to her feet without using her arms, never losing the hatred in her eyes. Kim kept smiling as the lights above the yellow light flashed green, then turned bright green again.

"What did you do?" Shego asked quickly.

Kim shoved the lever down causing the machine to churn and buzz unnaturally. It also started a light show with all the digital displays frantically spouting seemingly random digits.

"No!" Shego yelled as she started taking steps backwards.

Kim cartwheeled, somersaulted, and vaulted her way up the stacked crates and onto an open, outward-folding window near the ceiling.

"Sorry to leave so suddenly, but I've got the strangest feeling I need to clean up a mess or two you've made," Kim said as she started to climb down the alternating bricks jutting out of an exterior brick chimney, "Oh, and you might want to cut down on the snacks. Those thighs of yours slowed me down."

Shego watched Kim disappear out the window just as the brain-switching device overloaded. It sprayed sparks everywhere before a small explosion brought the machine to an abrupt halt and sudden silence. Smoke surged from within as Shego watched with a scowl.

"Oh, you have no idea, Kimmie." She said, still rubbing her sore arm, "You've got one hell of a mess to clean up."

She expected her plan to go more smoothly, but despite the hiccup at the end, everything was falling into place.


	3. Chapter 3: The Pursuit

Chapter 3: The Pursuit

Kim walked quickly down the sidewalk leading to her home, counting the number of fluorescent street lamps she passed in an attempt to keep her mind off the plummeting temperature.

"I sure hope Wade can locate my Kimmunicator somehow." She muttered, rubbing her exposed forearms together.

Her house slowly came into view as she headed down the long, downward-arching street. As she approached, she heard a strange commotion droning from the front yard.

"What's going on?" She thought, with some suspicion.

Kim continued walking closer, exposing herself in yet another spherical street light. She could see a mass of police officers, some in tactical gear, and vehicles to match around the front of her home. One of the barrel-chested patrol officers in the mix suddenly pointed in her direction and the buzz amongst them momentarily stopped before being replaced by incomprehensible shouting. Kim stopped in her tracks at the edge of the light still illuminating her as a chorus of metal and plastic weapons were aimed in her direction. She instinctively raised both hands as she picked out commands of halting and surrendering in the disharmonious screaming. Before she had time to react, one of the blue-shirted officers fired a single shot from his pistol. Kim heard the bullet whiz by like a deadly supersonic bee, seemingly inches away, before it impacted the asphalt a ways behind her. She lost her balance and fell backwards to the ground, out of sudden terror. After sucking down a few hard gasps, she raised her head to see the group of police rushing up the street. Kim didn't know if the shot was a warning, an accident by a nervous rookie, or a deliberate attempt to incapacitate her, but she realized they thought she had been hit. Now relying on her survival instinct, she pulled back her legs. Pressing off her back, she barrel rolled in the air and landed on her feet, facing away from the police. Like an elite sprinter, she zoomed away, back up the hill. More gunfire erupted as the police realized she wasn't hurt and was now escaping. Kim ducked, zigzagged, and rolled the best she could to avoid the sizzling lead as it streaked around her. She made her way towards a late model car parked next to the curb just ahead. It was a large, cherry red SUV. Kim darted to the left of the sidewalk with a weave and approached the SUV from the left side. Just before reaching the back of the vehicle, a burst of sub machine gun fire impacted the back window of the vehicle, creating three distinctive holes and sprays of safety glass. Kim ran through some of the airborne glass with her eyes closed. She forced herself to snort as she opened her eyes before rolling in front of the SUV. A quick survey of her surroundings led her to notice another vehicle parked in the driveway to the right. Pressing off the oversized grill of the SUV, she sped to the bluish-green luxury car parked in the driveway. There was strangely no gunfire this time, even as Kim estimated the mass as less than thirty feet away with a quick glance. She dove forward onto her hands and flipped behind the car. This time, however, she didn't stop. Instead, she ran along the side, ducked, before sprinting her way to the side of the bricked house just ahead. She made her way to the back yard and turned left, making her way up the hill again. She overleapt tall, wooden fences; outran guard dogs; and dodged security lights as she made her way to the top of the hill to an intersection.

"Shego's behind this. I need to lose these guys so I can find out what's going on." Kim said to reassure herself as she looked around the intersection.

With a little hesitation, Kim turned right and began sprinting down the street. She could see whiffs of expiration spraying forth from her mouth in the chilled air as her breathing became more labored. Hearing sirens in the distance, Kim knew she couldn't remain running alongside the road. Just before reaching a dip in the road for a low-hanging bridge, she turned left to head down a dirt alley between a house and a high retaining wall. Now halfway down the alley, her sprint had turned into a decaying jog. She finally came to a stop behind a white, two-story house and leaned on the waist-high, chain-link fence to catch her breath.

"I need to get up there." She thought, gazing at the daunting, fifteen foot high retaining wall.

She took in a deep breath as she noticed a safety fence at the top of the wall. She let the breath out with a discouraged sigh. Thinking quickly, she began to look around at her options for scaling the wall. In the yard behind her, she saw a small shed, a very tall oak tree, and a second story deck. She hopped over the fence to get a better look at the tree as its base was blocked by the shed. Just before she peered around the front of the shed, a bright light shone down the alley. She pulled back, pressing up against the old shed as she watched the light scan the alley. After a few tense moments, the light went away, though she didn't know if the possible police car had done the same. Carefully, she slid around to the front of the shed and looked towards the origin of the light; it was gone. She let out another visible cloud in relief before looking up at the imposing oak tree. It was at least thirty feet tall, but the lowest branches were out of reach from the ground. Kim looked for the shed to be a launching point, but decided she couldn't reach any branches from it. However, the second story deck looked promising for one outstretched branch. The deck could only be accessed from a back door as it had no stairs. Kim grumbled as she wiped some sweat away from her hairline and squeezed at her now aching forehead.

"Maybe I should try to turn myself in," She thought, "Just running like this looks me look guilty. And I don't even know what of, yet."

She suppressed a cough as she breathed in again.

"I can't, though..." She said quietly, "They tried to kill me. They'll just shoot me on sight."

She let her head hang as she leaned against the front of the shed.

"Now's not a good time for this." She thought, shaking her head slightly, "I have to find my way out of here first."

She pressed off the shed and scanned the dim yard for anything useful. Squinting her eyes, she noticed an old, square-shaped, barbeque grill a few feet from the deck. Being painted black, it was barely noticeable in the darkness. Kim looked at it, then darted her eyes up at the deck.

"I can do this." She said aloud, feeling somewhat refreshed.

After a skip, she took off running at the grill. She leapt as she neared it, planted her right foot next to the grill lid's handle, and pressed upwards with all her might. Perhaps because of her fatigue, she leapt more forward than upward and barely managed to grab the bottom of the deck. The momentum carried her body around so that it was almost as horizontal as the deck. Were it not for her gloves, she may have lost her grip. As her body swung back down, she grunted, using all the strength in her arms to shift her momentum upwards. She propelled herself high enough to do a handstand on the deck's railing. She let herself start to fall towards the deck before spinning her body on a palm and landing her feet on the railing in a crouched position.

"It's now or never." She thought, eying the jutting branch from the oak tree.

It was several feet away, but Kim thrust herself towards it with all her strength. The solid construction of the deck helped her launch tremendously. She flew through the air and caught onto the branch with both arms, bobbing up and down as her legs swung helplessly. Suddenly she heard a cracking sound and felt herself shift lower. Her heart sank as she glanced down at a flowerbed below. Ever so carefully, Kim inched her way closer and closer to the thick base of the oak.

"Good branch...good branch." She muttered, reaching the visible crack at the end.

She spied a knot in the tree and placed her right boot on it, making sure it was firmly in place. Pushing off the cracked branch and the knot, Kim grabbed a slightly higher, and much thicker, branch on the other side of the tree. Once she straddled herself on it, she looked over at the fence on the retaining wall. She still had several feet to go. From this point there were several more branches and footholds and Kim easily ascended to the one branch that stuck out far enough to possibly make the jump she needed. She sat on the wide branch, taking another short break to regain strength and to psyche herself up for the death-defying leap. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a police car come from underneath the bridge she had been at just minutes ago. It too was shining a light down the dirt alley in search of her. This time the car shone the light in the backyards and up into the trees. Kim's heart skipped a beat when the tree she sat upon was lit by the high-powered bulb. She was sure that she would be seen as light splashed the branches, but she was relieved to see the car continue down the road in its search. She let her head bounce against the tree and sighed heavily. After taking a moment to collect herself, she climbed to her feet and bounced on the limb a bit.

"Seems sturdy." She said, nodding a bit, "Please let me make this."

With sudden ferocity, Kim lunged forward, putting all her speed to use. The branch thinned as it got longer and her footing started to become loose. She leapt sooner than she wanted to and looked down at the safety fence as she flew nearly three and a half stories in the air. As the chain-link fence fast approached, it became apparent she wouldn't be able to land on her feet as she wanted, so she stretched her arms out as far as she could, knowing a fall could be fatal. Her body slammed against the fence as her arms reached over the top. She screamed in pain, feeling as if she had been impaled by the pointy fencing sticking above the top bar. Her feet clawed at the fence as she bent her arms to grab some links from the other side. She finally managed to get her left foot over the top and swung her other leg up and over the top. She released her grip and fell about six feet to the ground with a thud.

"I'm never leaving my grappling hook at home again." She said, rubbing her throbbing upper arms.

She rolled over and slowly rose to her feet next to a bush only to immediately duck behind it as she spotted a car coming from the bridge. It pulled up and stopped almost directly in front of Kim at a stop light. Seeing that it was just a white car brought her momentary alleviation. Her comfort was shattered as she heard another police siren in the far distance, bring her back to her survival senses. She heard the distinctive sound of a diesel engine coming from the right and peeked through the bush to see a dump truck slowing to a stop behind the white car. As inconspicuously as possible, Kim rose from behind the bush and walked around in a wide loop towards the back of the dump truck, avoiding the street light as best she could. After a quick glance to see no other cars coming, Kim jogged into the street and crept towards the truck when it suddenly started moving. She quickly ran up to the back of the heavy truck before it could gain much speed and hopped up onto the rear. The truck was covered in a black tarp, but something stretched it out in the middle. Kim pushed at the flapping tarp to see that the truck was filled with gravel and that it came to a mound in the center. The mound tapered downward towards the back and left more than enough room for Kim to fit into. After weathering a bump from some train tracks, Kim squeezed under the tarp and laid in the gap.

"This should work for now." She said to herself, glad to be shielded from the wind.

She pushed up slightly on the tarp to keep track of her location and heard yet another siren the distance.

A few hours had passed since Kim abandoned the truck after realizing it was about to enter an industrial facility guarded by razor-wire fencing and fled into the lower income area of Middleton. She had taken refuge from the icy breeze in a dark alley between two large apartment buildings. She hunkered down next to a dumpster and sat on an abandoned foot stool whilst continuously rubbing her arms together to keep warm. The muted chopping of helicopter blades kept reminding her the manhunt wasn't finished.

"I gotta find somewhere to keep warm for the night." She thought, looking up at the fire escapes on each building.

She lowered her head as a breeze swept through the alley and noticed some spots on her khaki pants. Squinting her eyes didn't help identifying the spots, so she quietly moved towards the end of the alley where it was lit by a randomly flickering street light. At the edge of both the alley and light, Kim pulled her right pant leg taut and inspected the spots closely; they were a deep crimson color. She felt as if her stomach cramped instantaneously.

"Oh my gosh..." She said to herself, "I hope this is mine."

She dug through her pockets until she found her compact. As if looking for a pimple, she scanned her face, pulling back hair, desperately trying to find some sort of laceration. She found nothing but a few light bruises and clasped her compact before sinking it into her pocket. Kim leaned against the wet brick of the building and quickly grasped at her upper arms where she landed on the fence. She forced her sleeves up to the shoulder only to find fresh bruising and nothing more. She groaned, pulling the sleeves back down.

"I need to get to the bottom of this." She thought, looking back down at the fire escapes.

She walked up to one on the right because the ladder was partially hanging down. Kim took a few steps back and ran directly at the brick wall. She jumped against it and pressed her way up enough to grab the ladder.

"Maybe there's an empty apartment I can get into for the night." She thought as she softly climbed the stairs.

Each floor she carefully peaked in the apartment window only to see signs of occupants. Upon reaching the ninth floor, she could see a bluish glow coming from the window. As she slid along the wall closer and closer, she could hear that it was a TV. Just before ducking the window, the broadcast caught her ear. It was the ten o'clock news and she was on it yet again. However, this time was not an honor.

"To recap our top story," The heavily makeup-clad female reporter said, "Teen hero Kim Possible is wanted for multiple crimes stemming from robbing the Middleton Bank earlier today."  
Kim gasped and edged an eye just enough to see her smiling file photograph displayed on the screen.

"Along with getting away with approximately three hundred and fifty thousand dollars, Possible is wanted for the murder of three people, including a police officer; attempted murder of another police officer who was shot in the neck and is now in critical condition; numerous counts of assault; and carjacking." The reporter continued, "The police ask for any sightings of Kim Possible be reported immediately and to not try and apprehend her yourself as she is considered armed and dangerous."

"This is unforgivable, Shego." Kim said a little too loudly as a brief moment of hatred came across her mind.

"What was that?" A woman's voice said from inside.

Kim pulled her head away from the window and sank to the cold metal grating.

"Ain't nothing out here." A man said, peering out the window.

Kim held still, not even breathing. She heard a muffled click of metal sliding against metal.

"There, it's locked." The man said as he walked away from the window, "Ain't no teenage girl gonna kick my ass."

Kim resumed breathing and let her muscles relax.

"I'm in deep sludge." She thought, rolling her head back and looking through the slatted metal bars of the guard rail.

She let out a deep sigh, her emission clouding her vision for a moment. Staring at the little skyline between the bars and buildings she could, Kim struggled with an ethical quandary.

Perched atop the three-story building of the Middleton Daily Gazette, Kim looked down at the main police station of Middleton. She sniffed to combat her runny nose as the wind whipped her red hair. It was shortly after midnight and Kim had been watching the police building for a while, seeing a few officers come and go occasionally.

"I have to turn myself in." She thought, gazing at the glass doors of the station.

She took turns squeezing the fingers of each hand and started to shake her head.

"I can't..." She said aloud, "But I can't keep running..."

Kim sank her face into her palms and rubbed her numb face.

"I have to do it." She said sternly, "No matter what happens, I just can't live with people thinking I did those horrible things. I know Wade can help me prove my innocence."

Kim took in a deep breath and looked down to make sure the coast was clear. The street was dead so she slid down a sturdy rain gutter all the way to the ground. Upon landing she felt a bit queasy, the frigid air finally getting to her, so she let her stomach settle for a bit before advancing to the police station.

"Here goes nothing." She said, grabbing the large, vertical handle of the oversized door and pulling it open.

She walked into the lobby, holding both hands up with palms spread. A small group of officers looked at her, dumbfounded, as Kim dropped down to a knee.

"I surrender." She said, lowering the other knee.

Some of the officers pulled out their pistols, causing Kim to close her eyes. She hoped getting shot didn't hurt as bad as she thought it would.

"Get down on the ground!" One of the cops screamed.

Before Kim could comply, another officer tackled her to the ground from behind and placed a knee on the back of her neck. Other officers piled on quickly, completely immobilizing her. They quickly cuffed her hands behind her back and rummaged through her pants, pulling out various cosmetics and gadgets.

"I'm innocent." Kim said as she was being groped.

"Yeah right." One of the officers said.

"How could you turn on us after helping out so many times?" Another said, "Turn on everyone."

Kim remained silent as the police pulled her up by her bruised upper arms.

"Ow!" She yelled slightly.

"Shut up." A female officer gripping the chain between her cuffs said, "You've caused much worse pain than that today."

"I'm innocent." Kim reiterated.

"Bullshit." An older officer standing in the front said, "Take her to an empty holding cell and have two guards on her at all times."

"Yes, Sarge." the two burly cops pulling at Kim's arms said before dragging her through a hallway.

Kim watched the ground rush by as every time she raised her head, the female officer tugged at her cuffs to force it down again. Finally, the floor stopped and Kim could hear a heavy door open. She was rushed into the cell and onto the ground. She felt something press against the back of her head and heard the fumbling of keys.

"You stay on the ground until you hear the door close or you will be shot. Understand?" One of the burly cops said, pulling the barrel away from Kim's head.

"Got it." Kim said, her voice almost cracking.

The female officer undid the cuffs and kicked Kim's legs apart.

"Do not move." The armed officer said sternly as he and the others pressed away from Kim.

Kim remained still, both hands still on her back, and held her breath. A moment later the heavy cell door slammed closed. Kim continued to hold still for several seconds, feeling some pain from holding her breath.

"You can move now." The female officer said.

Kim exhaled and sucked down a quick breath before slowly rising to her feet. She saw a small bunk directly in front of her and quickly grabbed the thin cover lying on it. She wrapped it around her cool body like a burrito and sat down on the paper thin mattress. She slumped forward and looked at her feet, already regretting her decision. Kim proving her innocence would be an extremely difficult uphill battle. She would never give up that battle, but gave a higher priority to warming herself for the moment.

"I guess this won't be so bad." She thought, sniffing, "I've been in more uncomfortable places."

"You two watch her." The female officer said to the burly cops, "I'll go get the room ready for the cavity search in the morning."

Kim's eyes widened and she groaned.

"I know my parents will hire the best attorney possible, but I'll still have them tell Ron to contact Wade. I think he's the only one who can really help me right now."

She glanced up to see both guards watching her. Lowering her head again, Kim laid down on the mattress and turned towards the wall. She rested her achy head and closed her dried out eyes. Sleep would not come easy as her mind raced with mixed thoughts, but the weary day eventually took its toll.


	4. Chapter 4: The Trial

Time seemed to creep along in the coming months as Kim spent most of her time sleeping, exercising, eating bologna, and sitting in a court room. Seeing her family and Ron sitting in the crowd, as the prosecution painted her as an evil psychopath, was the only comfort she had in her routine. Even their somber faces didn't tarnish the joy Kim had seeing them. The joy Kim had for her family overshadowed her concern for her case. Reliance on Wade to find a way to prove her innocence had been in vain to this point and the trial was nearly over. Kim was being charged as an adult based on the heinous acts of wanton violence. The highly skilled, highly victorious, and highly paid lawyer Kim's parents paid for was also having trouble doubting the bank's security cameras clearing showing Kim's face, as well as the many witnesses directly pointing out Kim from the witness stand.

"The prosecution rests." The opposing attorney said, pulling at the coattails of his expensive suit.

The thirty-something calmed walked back to his seat and glanced over to Kim's lawyer.

"I'll give it my best shot, Kim." Her lawyer, Mr. Walker said as he rose from his seat.

He was a black man, aged, with pronounced cheeks as thick lines ran down from his nose and around his mouth. His bright, cotton-like hair and half-dozen wrinkles across his forehead gave appearance of a well-experienced and wise man. He was such a man also exhibited in his far out-of-date brown suit.

"It's true ladies and gentlemen of the jury that Ms. Possible appears to the person in this video surveillance footage." Mr. Walker said as he slowly walked towards the jurors, "With today's technology anything is possible. Ms. Possible is world renowned for her crime-fighting and good nature."

Kim suddenly felt a fog of dread come over her. The sudden realization that she might not win the case hit her. She leaned forward and buried her face in both palms, reminiscing on her testimony while her lawyer desperately tried to give the jury reasonable doubt. Kim started sobbing gently, letting out some repressed stress that her always overwhelming positive attitude had held back since being jailed. Before she knew it, she heard the heavy wooden chair next to her gently scrap the wood flooring as her lawyer sat down next to her. Kim looked up with with bleary eyes with a puzzled look on her face.

"It's in the jury's hands now, Kim." He answered, sensing it was a question she was trying to ask.

"What happens if I'm found guilty?" She asked, wiping her moist eyes dry.

"Let's just hope that doesn't happen, sweetheart." The old gentleman said.

"Please, Mr. Walker. Tell me."

He sighed.

"Well, if you are found guilty, you will have to go back to jail. The judge will announce a sentencing date and will give you a sentence after deliberating what he thinks it should be."

Kim sank in her chair a bit and teared up again.

"Thanks for everything, Mr. Walker." She said, her voice nearly breaking.

"It's alright Kim. No need to thank me."

It wasn't long before the judge ordered the jurors to their deliberation room. Kim's family was allowed to sit in the front row near her, though communication was a bit melancholy and awkward with a couple bailiffs standing nearby. Even the tweebs were unusually well-behaved. It took the jury just over an hour to come to a decision. Kim quickly gave her parents, brothers, and Ron a huge as the jury was preparing to return to the courtroom. The atmosphere suddenly became very serious as the judge banged his gavel.

Kim was ordered to rise. She did and brushed some slight wrinkles from her burgundy suit and skirt. She gripped her hands in front, nervously.

"Madam foreperson, have you reached a verdict?" The obese judge asked, squeaking back in his chair.

"Yes, your honor." The middle-aged brunette said, holding a large index card.

"In the first count of the indictment, murder in the first degree, how do you find?" The judge continued.

"We, the jury, find the defendant, Kimberly Ann Possible, guilty."

Kim's head and heart sank as she knees nearly gave out. She could hear the shriek of her mother's cry, but didn't dare to turn around. Mr. Walker put his arm around her shoulder and whispered something to her, but she was so despondent, she didn't hear it, nor did she hear the results of the other counts. Nevertheless, Kim was found guilty on various counts of murder, attempted murder, assault, bank robbery, carjacking, and several smaller crimes. Gently shaking her, Mr. Walker brought her back to full consciousness just in time to hear the judge declare sentencing in a few weeks.

"I'll do what I can to help you Kim." Mr. Walker assured as the bailiffs came to handcuff and escort her back to jail once again. Just before being pulled through a side exit, Kim turned her head quickly just in time to see her mother sobbing as her father consoled her, the tweebs seemingly staring at the same spot on the ground, and Ron staring back at her with the image of guilt on his face. The bailiffs forced her through the door just as tears began to stream down her face with no reserve.

Kim spent the next few weeks in a fog, not having any perception of time or meaning. She sat in the courtroom in an orange jump suit, her head hanging low as she stared at the connected hand and leg cuffs binding her. She had given a tear-filled, barely coherent allocution and was now vaguely listening to dozens of character witnesses and family members that have come to make statements of her good nature. She felt the rawness of her cheeks as she blinked just before the judge spoke.

"May the defendant rise" He said.

Mr. Walker helped Kim to her feet as her shackles clanked.

"Ms. Possible, I have been on this bench for nearly thirty years and never have I come across such a juxtaposition of good and evil." The judge began, "Your service for the law, the world, and contributing to the greater good just does not explain your flagitious actions."

Kim sighed quietly, expecting a "but."

"However, the indisputable evidence cannot be argued with. I just want to know," he said, creaking forward in his chair, "Why?"

Kim looked down and remained quiet, with new tears flowing at a slow pace.

The judge sighed and leaned back again.

"Very well. Because of the number of good deeds you have done and people who have come to your aid, I have decided to forgo the death penalty. In lieu of it, I hereby sentence you to one hundred and thirty years in a federal prison with the possibility of parole after one-third completion."

He quickly banged the gavel. Kim shook her head and once again heard the cries of her mother, this time mixed with some cheers from the victims' families. Mr. Walker's arm wrapped around Kim's shoulders was timed perfectly. She leaned into him, sobbing. He spied the bailiffs coming to escort our of the corner of his eye.

"It's time to go Kim." He whispered, "I'll start working on the appeal immediately."

"Thank you." She mumbled, hugging him as best she could with constricted hands.

She felt a hand grab the back of her arm.

"Let's go." the husky bailiff said sternly, his badge shining in Kim's eyes as she turned.

Defeated, she slouched away with him as a female bailiff grasped her other arm. Kim could hear her mothers cries drowning out all the other courtroom noise, but did not dare look back for fear of losing it herself. It did not stop her own tears from flowing, though, especially when she heard Ron's low key sobbing. Kim clenched her eyes nearly shut to help fight the urge to face her family and Ron as she was shuffled through a side door in the courtroom.


	5. Chapter 5: Purgatory

Chapter 5: Purgatory

Nearly four months had passed since Kim was paraded through a locked-down ward. She was pelted with the most vile of verbal assaults from all the inmates, many of which she had a hand in imprisoning. From the first day of her sentence, Kim was placed in protective custody for her own safety. She lived alone in a tiny cell not even half the size of her bedroom. The so-called protective custody cells were the same for inmates punished with solitary confinement. Life there was boring, lonely, and trying on the mind. The only time she was allowed out of her cell was for what was called recreational exercise. It consisted of one hour a day locked in an indoor cage approximately the size of a tennis court. There was not any equipment to use or anything to entertain oneself, just an empty courtyard with a fluorescent sun. She could only round the perimeter or pace back and forth feeling quite appropriately like a caged animal. The only other time out of her cell was the once-a-week shower. It was humiliating as two large female guards watched her every move as she washed alone for no more than ten minutes. Other than showering and being in the exercise cage, Kim was typically shackled both hands and feet together, having to take very short steps. It was hard for even Kim to keep a positive attitude in such a dreary environment, but she did find ways to keep her morale. She regularly exercised in her cell, doing sit-ups, push-ups, squats, and even pull-ups using the top rung of her cell door. After nearly four months she was in the best shape of her life, even possessing a rock-solid "eight pack" abdomen. Another tactic to keep her sanity was taking advantage of the twice-a-month library cart that offered well-thumbed and vandalized books to read. Sexually explicit drawings, swastikas, anarchy signs, death threats, and other crude markings were strewn throughout most of the books, but Kim read as much as she could and learned much about subjects she had no interest in such as the migrating patterns of North American geese. A final solace came through correspondence. She was allowed to send and receive mail only once a month. Money placed in her account by her parents allowed for purchases of pencils, paper, letters, stamps, and other minor amenities from the prison's over-priced store. She received nearly a dozen letters from total strangers every month. Kim replied to many of them to simply be able to look forward to a reply. Marriage proposals were ignored. Of course, letters from family and Ron took top priority. She described the systematic life she now had and how she had made the best of it. She even joked to Ron about the food. As bland as it was, it was at least nutritious and far better than the mystery meat served at school. She had letters for her family, Ron, and a few strangers ready to go in unsealed envelopes. She had learned quickly not to seal them as everything incoming or outgoing was scrutinized by prison staff. The lack of privacy did not deter her from the only lifeline to the outside world, however. All to do was to wait for the mail pickup and delivery that always came near the end of the month, but never on any specific day.

Kim was sitting on the edge of her canvas cot, slipping her bright orange button-up shirt over her white tank top. Her somewhat baggy pants matched the button-up and was the norm for inmates in protective custody or isolation. Through keen observation, Kim had noticed regular inmates wore a light blue uniform and death row inmates wore dull yellow. It made her feel like property, which she eventually realized was true. She rarely was referred to by her name, but by her inmate number: 2046-9914.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand this." Kim said to herself as she looked up from her knees.

She saw her small stack of outgoing mail resting on her flimsy, fold-out, plastic desk across her tiny room and sighed.

"Maybe today is mail day." She thought, glancing up at her prison-bought calendar, "It's the twenty-sixth."

Bending over, Kim fished out a book from under her pillow and looked down at its formerly glossy cover. She had already read it twice with nearly a week until she could exchange it.

"A Brief History of the Roman Empire." She read aloud, "Maybe the third time it's enthralling."

She opened the book to the first page of 458 and began to read silently.

"Possible!" A guard yelled, startling Kim, "Get up, you're being moved."

She looked down at her book.

"Leave it." The guard said firmly, "Get your ass up here."

Kim sat the book aside, quickly taking note of being on page 43 and quickly approached the cell door.

"Where are you taking me?" Kim asked, against her better judgment.

A second guard appeared and pointed the nozzle from his fire extinguisher sized pepper spray bottle directly at her face.

"Are we going to have a problem?" The larger guard asked sternly.

"No, no... no." Kim said nervously, raising both hands.

She turned around and reached her arms out towards the cell door. The smaller, stockier guard opened a small metal flap in the door normally used for food trays. He grabbed Kim's wrists and yanked her back far enough to cuff her.

"Get on your knees and bend forward." He commanded.

Kim did so without question. She heard the heavy door slide open and just a couple seconds later, she was pulled up by her elbow. The stocky guard wrapped his arms around Kim's elbow and used the leverage to keep her bent over as he pulled her out of the cell. It hurt, but Kim didn't dare say anything for fear of reprisal. The other guard slammed the door shut behind them and soon gripped Kim's left elbow. Without a word, they began marching her down the corridor, then down some stairs, and then through a dimly lit hallway. Curious, Kim pulled her head up to look, but was immediately in agony as both guards pulled up on her arms and wrenched her shoulder muscles. She flung her head down and yelped in pain.

"Next time I'll rip your arm out of the socket." The bigger guard said, almost gleefully.

They continued down the hallway and went down a long flight of stairs before coming to a stop. Despite her hair hanging down and obscuring her peripheral vision, Kim managed to look left and right only by moving her eyes and seeing through the dense red strands. With the stairs behind, she appeared to be at a "T" intersection. The guards whispered something to one another and to Kim's surprise, they moved forward. After only a few steps they stopped. The stocky guard released her arm for a moment and she heard the fumbling of keys; the other guard pulled tighter on her arm to keep firm control. Shortly thereafter, she heard the thunking sound of a dead-bolt opening, then the squeak of an old steel door opening. Suddenly, the guard still holding her reached back and grabbed her by the butt.

"It's a shame a nice piece of ass like you has to run the gauntlet." He said, squeezing her backside.

"In ya go sweet cheeks." The other guard said, pulling at her arm.

Both guards thrust her into the room. Kim stumbled for a few steps before she fell to her knees. The door was quickly slammed behind and she could hear it being locked. She looked up to see several crates, cardboard boxes, and shelves lined with miscellaneous items. All were illuminated by a double fluorescent light tube fixture hanging silently above. Confused, Kim rose to her feet to survey the area when suddenly she noticed she was not alone. A light-blue clad women emerged from behind a large crate.

"Remember me?" The woman asked.

Kim remained silent, studying the woman for clues to jog her memory. The woman was slender with shoulder-length black hair, pouty lips, and a pronounced scar along horizontally across her chin.

"Sorry, I don't." Kim said, truly not recognizing her.

The woman's face furrowed.

"You put me in here two years ago. I was a millionaire business woman until you stuck your nose where it didn't belong."

Kim's eyes widened as she remembered.

"It's wasn't a business. It was a Ponzi scheme! All you did was trick people into giving you money. You had that fake charity, too." Kim said with a indignant grin, "You deserve to be in here Ms. Lana DeNiro."

"Yeah? Well, so do you." DeNiro said, slamming her right fist into her left palm as she stepped closer to Kim.

"Hold out some money? Bribe a couple of guards for some alone time with me?" Kim said, smiling, "You can't even fight fair since I have both hands tied behind my back. Not like I'll need them anyway."

DeNiro stopped walking and smiled. A dim figure emerged from behind stacked cardboard boxes to the left. It was another blue inmate. This time it was a brown haired woman much larger and taller than Kim, yet she was not recognized. More and more blue-clad criminals came from the shadows, some Kim did remember, others not. Before she knew it, seven inmates had her cornered against the steel door.

"Today we send you to hell." DeNiro said with a grin to enthusiastic cheers.

"Payback's a bitch!" one inmate yelled.

Kim started to panic as they closed in with her back against the door. Sensing a rushing attack, Kim jumped up from the balls of her feet against the door and used all her might to kick straight out. DeNiro was hit directly in the face, flying back into two other inmates with enough force to knock both of them down.

"Get her!" The large, brown-haired inmate yelled.

Kim landed on her feet and sprang forward, somersaulting in midair, and landed knee-first into the face of one of the inmates just knocked down who trying to rise up again. She quickly looked back to see an unknown foe running at her. Kim spun to her side and hit the incoming inmate with a solid thrust kick to the jaw, knocking her down and out. With the others approaching, Kim attempted to leap over the other inmate floored by DeNiro, but was snagged. The inmate had grasped Kim's right leg and held on despite Kim's pulling away. Kim heard a strange clanking noise a split second before a violently sharp pain covered her entire upper back. She couldn't help but to fall to the ground, her head bouncing off the concrete. She was struck again, this time in the lower back. Finally breaking free of the leg grapple, she spun around just in time to see the large woman raging down with an arm's length piece of logging chain. Instinctively, Kim darted to the left and was slightly deafened by the impact of the chain where her head had just been. She drove her legs upward and rolled back away from the group. Everyone besides the thrust kick victim were back to their feet. Kim started hopping on the balls of her feet as they mocked and threatened her. Finally, Kim launched herself straight up into the air with a mighty hop. Using her natural agility, she pulled her knees close to her chest and brought the handcuffs around her feet to the front before landing. With another onslaught brewing, Kim decided to rely on her Judo skills. The first inmate to attack threw a looping right hook. Kim ducked and held firm as the woman's own vigor launched her across Kim's planted hip. Two more blue shirts attacked as the first crashed face first into the ground. The first woman attempted a surprise knee attack to which Kim spun to the inside of and swept her own right leg behind the attacker's supporting limb. With a fierce thrust of her shoulder, Kim tripped the woman to the ground with a resounding thud. The other attacker managed to slug Kim in the back of the head with a fist, but the second swinig was met with an artful slip and a stiff elbow to the nose.

"Kill her!" The large woman yelled furiously, charging forth with the chain once again.

The behemoth swung the chain with great ferocity at Kim's head, but it was easily ducked. However, the back swing struck skin as Kim blocked the blow to her upper body with her right arm. The big woman pulled the chain high in the air and came down with great force. Using the chain between her cuffs, Kim stopped the woman's attack at the wrist and sidestepped the flowing chain. Another sucker punch from behind struck Kim on the right corner of her forehead, ripping flesh near her eye. There was no time to spare as the big woman was swinging for the fences once again. Kim ducked once more, but her sucker-punching assailant did not. The rear attacker fell to the ground and Kim refocused on the giant before her.

"Nice try." Kim said, goading her as blood trickled down her right cheek.

"You little..." The large woman said, attempting another back swing.

Kim blocked the attack again. However, this time she used her own handcuff chain to take the brunt. The end of the logging chain wrapped around Kim's cuffs and she immediately yanked as hard as possible to disarm the monster. The chain didn't budge. Instead, the big woman pulled back, nearly taking Kim off her feet. Fortunately, the chain unwrapped before that could happen. The woman predictably attempted another blow to Kim's head with a wide, sweeping blow. Kim not only ducked it, but she weaved around the wide woman. She jumped up and used the chain of her handcuffs to wrap around the big woman's neck like an impromptu garrote. As Kim came down, the huge woman's torso bent backwards. Kim launched a knee straight up as she pulled down on the neck and struck the giant in the spine, stunning her instantly. Kim hopped to the side quickly and let her foe fall to the ground in agony. She spun around to see some of her opponents had not yet given up and were back on their feet.

"Why don't you quit while you're ahead?" Kim said, secretly hoping they would.

The only answers were growls and continued assault. Kim parried, kicked, double-punched, and tripped until suddenly the most intense pain she had ever felt ran into her body near the base of her torso and immediately up her back.

"Die, you bitch." DeNiro said in a raspy tone.

Kim fell onto her knees and glanced down to see a shard of sharpened plastic from a lunch tray jutting from her side. Blood was flowing slowly from the wound and soaking her orange shirt. She tried to rise, but the pain was simply unbearable and she fell back to her knees. It would be only a few seconds until a battered inmate got her revenge with a running kick to the side of Kim's head, sending her on to the ground. Kim managed to defend herself with her handcuffs and arms momentarily, but it was soon futile. Except for the still out cold thrust kick victim, all of Kim's adversaries had risen and swarmed her. They kicked her in the face, the ribs, the stomach, and even stomped her head into the concrete. Kim's vision grew fuzzy with each blow to the head and her hearing started to fade.

"Let's slit her throat!" One of the inmates yelled.

"No, let's cut her head all the way off," another inmate said, "We can stick it on a pole and string the body up by the feet to drain the blood like a deer."

"I'm guessing you didn't have a good childhood." DeNiro said as she tapped a finger on her chin, "As much as I like the idea of mounting her head on the wall like a trophy... I just want her dead."

There was a brief moment of silence only broken by a painful whimper from Kim as the beast of a lady reached down and ripped the shiv from her side. Even the pain was dulled as Kim remained semi-conscious.

"I'm gonna rip her chest open." The big woman yelled, holding the bloody shiv up like a torch, "I'm gonna cut out her heart and eat it!"

A few of the women groaned.

"Well, that will definitely kill her." DeNiro said, looking down at a helpless Kim.

Kim watched as the group towered over her through blurry vision and bright glare from the light. She could no longer hear what they were saying, but still saw lips moving. She felt an irresistible urge to sleep, though she did her best to fight it. The pain quickly dulled to minor throbbing and her vision became obsessed with the ever growing glare of the fluorescent light bulbs. The serene light was soon swallowed by darkness as Kim lost consciousness and went limp.


	6. Chapter 6: Hell and Back

Chapter 6: Hell and Back

Muted scuffling was heard first. Then, grayish light dispersed from the middle of the blackness. Kim felt unusually mellow as if she was in a dream. The gray light became lighter and expanded to her entire field of vision.

"Am I dead?" She thought, not feeling any pain.

Suddenly, the muffled scuffling grew louder and voices were heard, though not intelligible. She felt a dull throbbing building in her side as she tried to move and her pristine sight quickly faded into a blurry mess of moving objects. A sporadic hissing noise became more and more prominent.

"Get on the fucking ground!" someone yelled, shocking Kim from her semi consciousness.

Her senses had suddenly became clear and she realized a brawl was raging in the storage room. Kim was still groggy and could barely move, but she managed to turn her head slightly enough to see three prison guards rounding the loose prisoners up like cattle. None of the guards were the ones responsible for leading her into the ambush. Two of the them were brawny and wearing the standard light blue shirt she had been accustomed to seeing so many times as she was checked in her cell. The other guard was a thin-faced older man with a staunchly white mustache and matching shirt.

"A boss?" Kim thought as she coughed.

She now realized what the hissing noise was; the guards had sprayed the inmates into submission with pepper spray. Some of the residual spray wafted back in the unventilated room.

"Watch them." The older guard said, pointing at the mass of bodies face-down on the ground.

He came over and knelt by Kim. Instinctively, she looked for something useful and noticed a key chain hanging from a clip on his belt.

"She's been stabbed." He said, pulling a radio from its holster, "Code black in the janitorial storage room, west wing."

"West..." Kim thought to herself.

"One stabbed and beaten and several others with contusions and lacerations." The supervisor said after some indecipherable feedback.

Kim noticed only the blue-shirted guards had the large pepper spray bottles as the old man listened to his radio. She grunted as she rolled to her stomach and began to rise.

"Just stay down." The supervisor said as he crouched.

Kim, now with her equilibrium mostly back, reached out with her cuffed hands and grabbed the man by his front shirt pocket. Ramming her foot into his crotch, she rolled back and flipped him over. While in motion, Kim also ripped the keys from his belt. She leapt up, grunting in pain. She rushed over to the still-shouting guards and ambushed the nearest with a kick to the back of the knee, causing his leg to give. As he lost his balance, Kim reached for his spray bottle as it passed and caught it. Startled, the other guard turned to spray Kim. Reacting quickly, Kim raised her left knee high and flung her leg out with a swift front kick. Her heel connected with the base of the spray canister, sending it flying over the big man's shoulder. Before he could react, she sped away as best she could, pointing the bottle in the guards direction to discourage chase.

"Sorry." She said, running past the older guard who was still writing in pain on the ground.

She hurried through the now wide-open door and began a painful ascent of the stairs. Nearly half-way up, she stopped to look back. The two burly guards were at the base of the stairs, one rearmed with pepper spray. Kim opened fire with her own canister, creating a misty, pink barrier before carrying onwards.

"Which way?" She said aloud, frantically looking left and right as she topped the stairs.

The left was a dead end, so she headed right, down a hallway. There were two doors on the left, which Kim remembered one was part of her descent into hell. Straight ahead was a barred cell door that seemed to block access to a much larger area. She fumbled with the keys as she ran, trying to find a one to unlock her cuffs. As she neared the cell door, she stopped to look behind. There were no guards, but crimson droplets intermittently lining the white-tiled floor. A foreboding sense of doom came over briefly, but Kim quickly regained her composure and searched the keyring. Finally, she found a small, skinny key and immediately tried to free her restraints. A few seconds later and the handcuffs clanked against the floor.

"First time's the charm, I guess." She said, jogging the few feet to the cell door.

There was a key card reader to its right. Kim started swiping the key cards on the keyring in order; the second making the door buzz and slide open. Suddenly, the furthest door from behind burst open with a small posse of armored guards. Kim spun around and her eyes widened as they laid upon a shotgun being held by the lead man. She turn and ran through the open door just before a shot was fired. Kim was hit in the lower back and screamed in pain. She staggered, touching a hand to the ground, but did not fall. Screams echoed throughout the large, high-ceiling, room as clerical workers, janitors, and the like scattered. With cell doors on each wall, it seemed like some sort of hub. Kim noticed the door to her left was larger and there was a small wooden door just to the right of it. She darted towards the wooden door as she had spotted a metal detector through the bars and deduced it to be an exit. As Kim neared the wooden door, another shot rang out. A small bag slammed against the concrete wall just left of the door and fell to the ground; it was a bean bag.

"Please don't be locked." She said nervously, as she grasped the stainless knob.

It was not locked and she burst into the room to see a guard frantically searching various security cameras. Kim slammed the door behind and locked it as the guard turned towards her.

"Don't do anything crazy." The unarmed guard said with both hands up.

Kim pointed through the glass window overlooking the metal detector.

"Open the other door." She said, holding up the pepper spray can.

The guard hesitated as he skittishly tried to speak.

"Now!" Kim yelled, her pain encouraging her unusually hostile tone.

"Sure." The guard said, hitting a green button and pulling a lever on a console in front of the glass.

The gate opposite the hub area slowly cranked open. Kim suddenly let out a stream of pepper spray, giving the guard a burning crimson mask. He fell to his knees and rubbed his face in pain.

"Sorry." Kim said, swinging the canister at the glass window.

She didn't want to spray him, but couldn't risk him reversing the door. A few swings cracked the strong class and one particularly vicious blow shattered it. She heard a loud cracking sound as the wooden door was being breached. Without any time to spare, Kim took a step back before she rushed forward and vaulted through the gaping hole above the control console. She rolled upon landing and rushed through the open gate as the guards broke through the security room door.

Kim neared her escape as she ran into a foyer lined with fake plants and aged leather couches. Nobody was around, but she could hear voices coming from a room to the left. Then, the front door opened and in poured the most sunlight Kim had seen in quite a while. She was mesmerized for a moment before realizing it was the front entrance. In walked a woman with a black bun hairstyle and gray business skirt. She stopped suddenly upon seeing a battered and bloodied Kim.

"Move!" Kim yelled, shoving the stunned woman aside and plowing through the hydraulic front door.

The bright sun blinded Kim momentarily, but soon faded. She saw a large, mostly filled parking lot. Far ahead she could see the double razor wire fence keeping society safe from her apparent wanton murderous rage. There was also a gate and a chance to escape; the only chance. She took a deep breath and began sprinting between two rows of cars. It dawned upon her the keys she held were no longer necessary and they were quickly dropped from her left hand to make room for the pepper spray. Her right hand now free, she clung to stop blood from oozing from her right side. A series of loud sirens began to bellow throughout the compound. Lock down was finally in effect, but Kim was quick in her escape. Fortunately for her, the parking lot was desolate of employees, though the guards surely were or would soon be flowing out from within the facility.

"This is it." Kim thought as she reached the end of the row of cars.

She crouched at the back of a red SUV and looked at the gate some twenty feet away. She waited briefly to catch her breath. She gave a quick glance down at her bloody hand before covering her wound again. Kim was just about to make a dash towards the guard kiosk at the gate when a prison van squeaked to a stop and honked its horn. A guard came out of the kiosk and waved his hands back and forth. The man driving the van didn't seem happy and climbed out to confront the guard. He came around the back of the van and started arguing. Kim watched intently to make sure neither noticed her as she slipped around the SUV to the next row of cars and a new cover. She could hear them, but not really make out the conversation, save for the occasional four-letter word. After slipping to the last car, a small blue sedan, Kim was a mere stone's throw away from the two men. She had now come up with a plan and it was time to implement it. She rushed the men silently, though her footsteps gave herself away. The guard turned to her and reached for his sidearm. Kim vaulted into the air, kicking the chest. Pressing off of him, she kicked the driver in the head and used him for leverage as well.

"Freeze!" The guard yelled from his back as Kim slammed against the top of the van.

She used the momentum to roll herself onto the top. Her adrenaline now running at full capacity, she ignored the pain and stood at the back of the roof, staring at the single gate. She took off like an Olympic sprinter and dove from the roof with her arms spread out like a bird. Kim flew just inches above the gate's razor wire and turned her body over in preparation for a hard landing. She slammed into the ground, bringing her intense pain, even though the adrenaline.

"Come on, Kim." She muttered, encouraging herself to rise again.

She looked forward at the old highway and a house just across it. She staggered a few steps before jogging and looked both ways as she started to cross the highway. There was a gunshot. Asphalt sprayed into the sky just a few feet to her right as a bullet just missed. She immediately started to run, zigzagging in an attempt to confuse the shooter. Another shot whizzed past her and threw blades of grass and a puff of dirt into the air. Kim realized the person shooting at her was from a watchtower at the corner of the prison's fence and not the gate guard. She ran the gauntlet of flying debris as the guard fired at her in haste. Kim saw her only hope as getting behind the country house just ahead. She approached the house's mailbox when another round whizzed by, hitting the brick base the mailbox sat upon. The bullet shattered and pelted Kim with tiny shards of hot lead, metal, and splintered brick. The guard stopped firing as Kim darted into a semi-covered car port attached to the house. She quickly squeezed between a large truck and aluminum siding before she leapt a small wrought iron safety fence, dropping a few feet into the backyard. After surveying the yard for anything useful and only finding ceramic ducks and flower pots, Kim headed for the dense tree line down the sloping backyard. She winced in pain with each step and put pressure on her stab wound, hoping in vain that it would help. Her pace did not slow upon reaching the woods as she hopped from rock to rock and between various types of barren trees. She finally stopped briefly after hopping down into an empty creek bed. Forcibly, yet painfully, Kim took deep breaths while holding her side. Feeling a sense of paranoia, she scanned the area behind, only to discover the clusters of trees and thick foliage she had just forced her way though.

"The hard part is over... I guess." She said quietly as she looked up at the creamy streaked sky.

She took in another couple of hard breaths and looked back down at her wound.

"Ok, Kim." She said letting out a large enough breath to see it crystallize in the ever cooling air, "You can do this. Just keep going."

She gave herself a little nod of encouragement and then climbed out of the creek bed to continue onward. She knew nightfall would likely bring her a hypothermic doom and there was no way of knowing how much further until she emerged from the woods. She had no other option than to keep moving.


End file.
